20 October 2005

Abstract:
The last decade has revealed remarkable diversity in the neutron star
population. Most notable amongst these new discoveries is the emergence
of a population of "magnetars", neutron stars whose radiation is powered
by extreme magnetic fields, in excess of 10^15 gauss. While there have
been many intensive observations of magnetars themselves, vital clues
as the nature of these exotic objects can come from understanding their
interactions with their environments. I will present two recent studies
which illustrate this point: the discovery of a wind bubble around the
magnetar 1E 1048.1-5937, and new observations of SGR 1806-20, which for a
fraction of a second last year outshone the entire Milky Way by a factor
of a thousand. These observations provide crucial new information on
the physics and demographics of these extreme objects.